If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.
Now let’s wrap it all together and develop keen insights that you can leverage for your work and your social media.
Part 2:
Many startups fail within the first couple of years because they ride the wave of initial momentum and succumb to the tides when their initial razzmatazz subsides. They inflate themselves with the helium of “newness” and deflate themselves by relying on the “newness” factor far longer than warranted.
If startups cannot leverage ambassadors or establish a sustainable business model that genuinely adds value to consumers, they’re dead in the water. The business will flounder when it can no longer sustain itself, due to monetary woes or wholeheartedly disengaged business owners (yes, oxymoron intended).
Lucky for you, if you’re in the social media space, you typically aren’t as limited by monetary concerns. However, you are limited by your mindset. If you succumb to the “not the right time” or “not the right opportunity” mentality, you’ve floundered.
And this is where my current experience comes to a crossroads. I’ve had the initial hits of the first post, and now my views are stagnant and negligible. I don’t have many ambassadors, and I’m not gaining traction as my content develops and grows. So much hard work for nothing, right?
Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m honing my craft. I’m learning how to better engage others through comments, posts, and my overall approach to different social media platforms. I’m reinforcing my purpose, passion, and persistence as I battle every day to add value to others. It’s not about the likes or the viewership – it’s about the value-add. But I know that, as the likes and viewership increase, so will my value-add to others as ambassadors begin to refer my work and other social media influencers open themselves up to collaboration opportunities with me. As my network increases, my value-add will dramatically magnify.
I’m willing to be patient. I’m willing to be persistent. If it takes months, years, or decades, I will continue to produce, learn, and realign. And that’s the main attribute of businesses that survive the hump and individual people that thrive on social media – they plug away during the hard times, learn through adversity, and leverage their experiences to add value to the world.
The world will take notice. Just give it time. And give yourself time to grow and foster your own skill set. Don’t be disheartened by the lulls. Overnight successes don’t exist. Many businesses and social media influencers alike will tell you that their “overnight success” was comprised of laborious toil that went unnoticed and unrealized for years.
We’re in the shadows. Cranking out our repetitions every day. Punching that good ol’ slab of beef. And when the sun shines on us, we’re going to glow up.
People have two choices when they’re in the shadows – they can wither away and die, or they can create their own sunlight to prepare for their sunrise. Maybe the world doesn’t care now … but one day it will. Don’t do anything to prove others wrong – do everything you can to prove yourself right.
Whether it’s a business, a social media post, or a hobby … the first punch you throw is only the beginning of the fight. If you can’t take the hits and take it to the twelfth round, you may as well throw that white flag.
Rocky himself had multiple comebacks. Triumphs followed by falls from grace, followed by even more triumphant ascensions. The ascensions are that much sweeter because of adversity. Adversity creates perseverance, and the true triumph is reached in enduring adversity. Holding that trophy is just icing on the cake.
Go get ‘em, tiger. Pack a punch and be willing to take a few before you become champion. And always remember that the journey will be more enriching and fulfilling than the destination.
